When asked for a timeline for the project, Sands said, “Probably three to four months.”

He said the government expects to spend somewhere between $1 million and $3 million for the overhaul.

“Again, this is kind of [a] chicken-egg phenomena,” he said.

“How much you do depends on how much commitment you have, but we have to do something. If we were to say that we had to pay for it ourselves and not incorporate commitments from corporate Bahamas then the scope of that will be far less than if you can count on an extra $500,000, an extra $1 million, an extra $1.5 million.”

He said the government has started some of the basic renovations for the ward, including site preparation, cleaning and replacement of the windows.

“It’s anticipated that we want this project to finish by the end of the year,” Sands said.

Asked if the project would be started by late-summer or early-fall, the minister said, “No, I would hope that the project would start even sooner than that.”

Sands said Disney Cruise Line President Jeff Vahle and his team toured PMH on Monday and the clinics in central and south Eleuthera on Tuesday.

He said Disney has expressed an interest in partnering with the Ministry of Health and the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) “in terms of some collaboration with the redevelopment of our pediatric services”.

“These discussions have progressed to the point where, as they prepare to roll out their Lighthouse Point project, they have also looked at Princess Margaret Hospital,” Sands said.